Multiple stage jet squeeze anchor



Sept. 24, 1963 1 s. FITE MULTIPLE STAGE JET sQUEEzE ANCHOR 3Sheets-Sheet l Filed Sept. 19, 1961 1N VEN TOR Attorneys sept. 24, 1963L. s. FITE 3,104,719

MULTIPLE STAGE JET SQUEEZE ANCHOR Filed Sept. 19. 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 2Hg. /A

INVENTOR.

sept. 24, 1963 L. s, Fm; 3,104,719

MULTI-PLE STAGE JET SQUEEZE ANCHOR Filed Sept. 19, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 5Fig. 6

Fig, 8

Lui/7er 5I Fife INVENTOR.

BY Hmm United States lPatent O 3,104,719 MULTIPLE STAGE JET SQUEEZEANCHOR Luther S. Fife, Natchez, Miss., assigner to Petroleum AnchorEquipment, Inc., Natchez, Miss., a corporation of Texas Filed Sept. 19,1961, Ser. No. 139,102 7 Ciaims. (Cl. 165-243) The present inventiongenerally relatesto an anchor device and more particularly to an anchorthat may be employed as a holding device wherever it is impractical touse screw or other types of mechanical anchors and has particularadaptation for use in submerged soils such as off-shore or lake bottoms.The anchor also is especially useful in guying platforms, offshoredrilling rigs or the like and is also quite eifective for use as apipeline holddown and is also capable of use in holding cables in adesirable position and may even be used under water.

Primarily, the present invention employs an anchor device which enablesthe anchor to be forced into the soil by the jet action of .a novelnozzle assemble together with means for subsequently forcing hardenableconcrete or the like laterally outwardly for hardening in an enlargedportion of the jet hole for anchoring the assembly in place.

The anchor is in the form of a tube having .a jet head .on the bottomthereof so that high pressure fluid such as water or the like may bepumped down through the anchor and discharged from the jet head wherebythe jet head will form a bore into 'the soil. After the anchor has beenjetted to the desired depth, a plug device such as a spherical ball isplaced in the tube and it moves downwardly until it comes in contactwith a movable bushing so that when high pressure is applied to theball, the bushing will be moved longitudinally thus exposing and Openinglateral holes .and closing oif the jet head thus causing the water ytobe directed laterally outwardly of the anchor against the wall of thehole which has been formed by the jet head. This pumping or jettingoperation is continued laterally until a cavity has been formed ofdesired size to insure the required hold-down. Then, cement containingadditives for quick setting or other similar material is pumped .throughthe anchor until it has returned to or near the surface of the soil onthe outside of the anchor and it is then allowed to set up or harden.After the concrete has hardened, the pump is again put into operationfor pumping additional cement or other material through the anchor andsuicient pressure is applied to break down the soil formation thusforcing or squeezing the cement or other material out into the soilformation in the area adjacent to the side openings in the anchor thusforming a mass of cement or other materials of desired size which is inall cases larger than the jetted hole and large enough to insure theneeded hold-down. With this construction, any hold-down capacity can behad to the tensile strength of the tube used in the anchor. Thus, byVarying the size of the tubing, the hold-down capacity of the anchor maybe varied.

After the concrete is allowed to set up or harden, the anchor is thenready for use as it is secured to the mass of material by `the finsthereon. The tins have also served another purpose when jetting theanchor into place in that they wil-l centralize the device while theanchor is moving into the hole formed by the jet head.

The `anchor also includes .a novel cable attachment which may swivel inrelation to the tube thus enabling the cable to be attached prior toinstallation of the anchor. Also, the cable is constructed in a manner.that will enable replacement of the cable from the surface of the wateror barge deck by attaching the end of the new cable to an end of the oldcable and then pulling the other end of the old Vcable until the newcable is pulled through the 3, l 64,7 i 9 Patented Sept. 24, 1 963 ICCcable attachment and back to .the surface whereby the new cable may thenbe cut from the supply coil and the two ends clamped together above thewater surface thus eliminating underwater work.

The formation of a lateral cavity and pumping of liquid cement thereintomay be carried out at several different levels thus assuring a maximumamount of concrete in the formation. Also, in many installations, itwill not be necessary to carry out the second pumping operation forsqueezing the cement out into the soil which, of course, is dependentupon the holding force desired.

Thus, with the present invention, an anchor device which is easy to useand effective for its particular purposes is provided together with adevice which is quite inexpensive to manufacture.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numeral-s refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURES 1 and 1A represent a side elevational view of the anchor of thepresent invention;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom plan view of the jet head forming the bottom -ofthe anchor;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially upon a planepassing along section line 3--3` of FIGURE 2 illustrating theconstruction of the jet head;

FIGURE 4 is a transverse sectional View taken Asubstantially upon aplane pas-sing along section line y4 4 of FIGURE 1A illustrating thelateral holes in the tubing;

FIGURE 5 is a detailed sectional View taken substantially upon a planepassing along section line S-5 of FIGURE l illustrating the cableattachment;

FIGURE 6 is a vertical .sectional view taken subs-tantially upon a planepassing along section line 6 6 of FIGURE 5 illustrating furtherstructural details of the cable attachment;

FIGURE 7 is a transverse, sectional view taken substantially upon aplane passing along section line 7-7 of FIGURE 1 illustrating theconstruction of a stabilizer n assembly;

FIGURE 8 is a Vertical sectional view taken substantially upon a planepassing along section line 8 8 `of FIGURE 7 illustrating furtherstructural details of the stabilizing iin;

FIGURE 9 is :a longitudinal sectional view of a portion of the anchortubing illustrating the sleeve or bushing which normally closes thelateral openings together with a ball positioned thereon for moving thebushing downwardly whereby the lateral openings will be opened;

FIGURE l0 is a sectional view similar to FIGURE 9 illustrating theposition of the bu-shing and ball plug when moved to a lower positionfor opening the lateral openings;

FIGURE 11 is a sectional view illustrating a bushing engaged directlywith a spring which may be the uppermost bu-shing;

FIGURE l2 is a perspective View of the bushing; yand FIGURE 13 is.afperspective view of an upper bushing having a larger diameter bywhich a smaller ball capable of engaging a lower bushing may passtherethrough.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral l10 generallydesignates the -anchor of the present invention as illustrated inFIGURES 1 and 1A which includes an elongated sectional tube or pipe v12inwhich the sections are Vinterconnected by screw threaded couplings 14of the internally threaded type. Mounted on the lower end of the tube 12is a jet head generally designated by numeral 16. At longitudinallyspaced points along the tube 12, there are provided stabilizers eachbeing generally designated by the numeral 18 and the upper end of theanchor is provided with a swivel cable attachment generally designatedby the numeral Zi).

Referring now specically in FIGURES 2 4, the jet head 16 includes anozzle head '22 attached to the lower end of the tube 12 by a couplingmember 24. The lower end of the nozzle head 22 is hernispherical andgeneral- 'ly in the form of a nose 2'6. Extending axially from thecenter of the nos-e 22, there is provided a pair of deiiector yplates orblades 28 and 30 having angularly disposed lower end portions 32 and 34which terminate Vin beveled edges 36 and 38. The offset portions orangulated portions 32 and 34 extend in opposite directions to each otherand the plates 2S and 3) are spaced slightly from each other and may besecured to the nose 26 by welding 40 or the like.

Also attached to the nose 26 is a pair of tubular nozzles 42 and 44extending interiorly of the nozzle head 22 and having outer endsextending annularly or in inclined relation as indicated by numerals 46and 48. The nozzles 42 and-44 terminate in oriiices 59 constructed ofhigh pressure tubing with the orifices and odset ends 46 and 48 of thenozzles being directed to discharge high pressure jets of fluid onto thesurfaces of the bit plates 28 and 3b on the surface of the inclinedportions 32 and 34 remote from the bevel edges 36 and 3S whereby thefluid being discharged will be given a swirl for more efficient jettingof a hote 52 in the soil 54 such as at the bottom of a body of water orlin other types of soil where it is impractical to employ a mechanicaltype anchor.

"Referring now particularly to FIGURES 7 and 8, each of the stabilizingassemblies 18 includes an elongated cylindrical member generallydesignated by the numeral S6 having an odset or enlarged central bore 58received over one of the couplings 14 between adjacent sections of thetube 12. The ends of the cylindrical member 56 are contoured to iit theadjacent portions of the tube 12 as indicated by reference numeral 6d.The cylindrical member S6 is provided with a plurality of radiallyextending ns 62 rigid therewith and the bottom ends of the -tins 62 arebeveled or inclined as indicated by numera'l 64 wherein the fins willcentralize the tube in relation to the hole 52 during and afterinsertion when the anchor is being jetted into the hole 52.Subsequently, the stabilizing :ns 62 have another function set forthhereinafter.

The cylindrical member 56 is constructed of two Vsections `66 and 63which are detachably interconnected by interdigitated apertured lugs 7@releasably receiving hinge pins or locking pins 72 therethrough forsecuring the sections of the tubular member 56 in encircling relation tothe coupling 14 by locking the stabilizing n :to the tube.

A number of the stabilizing tins may be employed but at least, thestabilizing hns should be disposed at the second and third couplings onthe tube. The stabilizer tins tend to center the anchor in the jettedhole into which the anchor moves and they are attached after the tubinghas been assembled just prior to installation of the anchor. Thedividing fline between the two halves of the stabilizer passes throughthe center line of the hinges and the pins 72 are tirst inserted in onepair of hinge lugs 70, the stabilizer is then opened and positioned onthe coupling and maintained thereby inserting the pin 72 in the secondpair of hinge lugs 7i) on the opposite side thereof. The interiorsurface of fthe stabilizer is formed to coincide with the contour of theupset tubing and the coupling 14.

FIGURES and 6 illustrate the details of construction of the cableattacthment which includes a pair of generally diamond-shaped plates 74and 76 in the form of gussets Itogether with interconnecting centersections 78 defining a central opening 80. The ce-ntral opening S0 isalso defined by tubular extensions 82 extending above and below centersection 78 and are received on the tube 12 with the upper end of thetubular extension 82 abuttingly engaging an annular shoulder of acoupling member 114 thus swiveliing mounting rthe cable attachment onthe tube 12. The center section 78 also denes a` pair of large openingsS4 and 86 adjacent the side apexes of the plates 74 and 76. The openings84 and 86 are deiined by the center sections 73 and transverselyextending web portions 88 and 90 which are generally ovalshaped inconiiguration. tubular extensions S2 may be suicient to slide over` theregular couplings 14 employed in connecting the sections of the tube butwill abuttingly engage an end coupling which may be larger than theintermediate couplings. Also, the members 88 and 90 receive operatingcables 92 and 94 respectively by virtue of the cables passing around themembers. 92 and 94 to be easily replaced by merely attaching one end ofa new cable to one end of the old cable and then pulling on the otherend of the old cable wherein the new cable will be pulled downwardlyunder the particular transverse member S8 or 90 and then back up to theoriginal starting position at which timev the ends of the new cable maybe connected to the supporting machinery in an obvious manner.

In employing the anchor, a drive tubing is installed into the upper endof the end coupling and this driving tubing may be unscrewed from theanchor and removed after `the anchor has been set in place.

The tubing 12 is provided with a plurality ofsetsfof radial holes 96above the jet head and these radial holes 96 are normally closed by alongitudinally elongated tubular bushing 98. The tubular bushing 498 isprovided with a longitudinal passageway 1b@ which normally enablespassages of the jetting luid therethrough. The

llower end of the bushing 98 rests on a compression coil spring 102which has the bottom end thereof resting on an annular washer or disk 1Mreceived between the s ections of the tubing and supported on the end ofa lower Y tubing and retained in place by the coupling 14 as illustratedin FIGURE 9. the bushing in position and return it to position inV amanner described hereinafter. Y f

The upper end of the bushing 93 or that end which faces the top end ofthe anchor is provided with a generally conical seat 106 formed bybeveling lthe upper end of the bushing. The seat 166 forms a valve seatfor a spherical ball valve member 16% which may be inserted into thetube 12 from the upper end thereof after the anchor has been jetted inposition for purposes of subse quently applying pressure above the ballitS thus forcing the bushing 93 and the ball valve member 108 downwardlyto the position illustrated in FIGURE l0 against the tension of thespring thus compressing the spring 162 and opening the openings 96whereby flowable concrete or cement may be pumped out through theopening 96 after the hole 52 has been enlarged at the area in alignmentwith the opening 96 by virtue of high pressure jetting tluid beingdischarged therefromthus forming a generally bell shaped undercut to thewall of the hole 52 for increasing the diameter of the hole thusenabling the concrete, when pumped into the enlargedl diameter andhardened to eectively anchor the tube in the hole.

lFIGURE `1l illustrates a slightly modified bushing 918' for indicating4that the bushing may have any suitable thickness as far as the wallthickness thereof is concerned. Also, the lowermost bushing 98 asillustrated in FIGURE 12 will have a relatively small diameter vcomparedwith an upper bushing designated by numeral`110 in IFIGURE 13 so thatthe relatively small ball 108 will fall through the seat v112 on thelarger bushing V1110 into engagement with the lowermost bushing 98. Thena larger ball may be inserted into the tube for lodging against the seat-1'12 thus enabling sequentia closing of the bushings after the enlargeddiameter in the hole has been formed for effectively forming severalareas of enlargement in the hole thus further anchoring the tube in thehole.

The internal diameter of theV This enables the cables Y The spring 162serves to retaink The spring k102 also has the function of returning thebushing 98 to a position for closing the opening 96 in the eventpressure above the bushing becomes reduced for any reason. For example,if it is desired to disconnect the drive tubing or reduce the pressurein the tube 12, the spring will close the bushing 98 due to a normalequalization of pressure thus eliminating backflow of uid through theopening 95. Equalization of pressure is accomplished since the ent-irehole will be pressurized and the pressure will leak back through thenozzle openings for equalizing the pressure although the pressure willnormally not be equalized due to the ow characteristics of the fluid.

In some installations, the use of the spring may be omitted and thedevice may be used lwith a single stage anchoring device or there may beseveral stages of anchoring depending upon the holding power desired. Byforcing the cement outwardly under very high pressure, the cement mayactually be squeezed into the various cavities appearing in the groundsurface thus assuring that the cement will be intimately locked to theanchor tube and stabilizing tins.

One example of use of the anchor is its use as a holddown or anchor forunderwater pipes such as underwater gas transmission lines. In presentpractice, there is no feasible method of holding pipe lines in placethrough the use of mechanical anchors installed from surface vessels andthe pipe lines are coated with sucient materials, such as concrete, toovercome buoyancy and hold the line stationary on the bottom. Thismethod of laying line from a surface Wessel and barge is expensivebecause of the cost of the coating material and because of the weight ofthe coated pipe suspended between the bottom and the laying vessel. Asan example, thirty inch pipe with a .375l wall thickness has a netbuoyancy of 322 pounds per linear foot and the cost of the coatingapplied on the pipe is approximately $18.00 per foot. K

The use of the jet squeeze pipe line anchor would eliminate the cementcoating and pipe could be strung behind the laying barge on the surfaceof the water and then ooded causing it to sink to the bottom. The jetanchors would then be installed across the flooded pipe from a smallsurface vessel equipped with an A frame, or crane, to hold the anchorand drill stem and equipped with a pump connected to the drill stem tobe used to jet the anchor into place and to pump down sufficient cementto hold the anchor. After the anchor is in position the drill stemconnected with the two inch pipe saddle would be unscrewed andretrieved.V

In actual tests, a jet pipe and from 2% pipe jetted fty feet into sandwith forty-eight sacks of cement forced through the port held 122,000pounds. This type anchor could also be inserted through a bracket whichwould completely encircle the pipe. The foregoing is considered asillustrative only of the principles of the invention. lFurther, sincenumerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilledin the art, -it 'is not desired to limit the invention to the exactconstruction and operation shown and described, and accordingly allsuitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, fallingwithin the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

"1. An anchor device comprising an elongated tube having lateralopenings, closure means disposed in said tube and normally closing saidlateral openings to the interior of the tube, a jet head at the bottomend of the tube, stabilizing means mounted on the tube intermediate thelength thereof, attachment means mounted on the tube adjacent the upperend thereof for yattaching a cable or the like to be anchored, and meanswithin the tube for closing oif the jet head and shifting said closuremeans to 6 open said lateral openings for discharge of anchoring cementlaterally of the tube.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said jet head includes agenerally rounded nose, a pair of axially extending spaced platesterminating in oppositely offset `end portions, nozzles communicatingwith the interior of the tube and discharging against the inclinedsurfaces of the plates thereby discharging high pressure jetting fluidin a swirling motion for jetting a hole in which the tube may be loweredwhereby the entire length of the tube may be jetted down into such ahole.

3. The structure as detined in claim 1 wherein the stabilizing meansincludes a tubular sleeve, said tube being constructed of sections andinterconnected by couplings, said tubular sleeve being split intolongitudinal halves for positioning over one of said couplings andincluding an annular recess in thevinterior thereof for locking thesleeve to the coupling, means securing the halves of the sleeve to thecoupling, and radially projecting fins rigid with said sleeves forcentralizing the tube in the hole formed by the jet head and serving asanchor means for engagement by cement when pumped laterally, said finshaving an inclined lower edge for guiding the tube into the hole.

4. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said attachment meansincludes a sleeve member swivelly connected to the tube adjacent theupper end thereof, laterally extending parallel plates rigidly aiiixedto the stabilizer, rounded cable engaging members at the side apexof theplates for receiving a cable therethrough whereby the cable may bereplaced with a new cable by attaching the new cable to the old cableand pulling it through the area between the plates and inwardly of thecable engaging member.

5. The structure ras defined in claim l wherein said closure meansincludes a sleeve member slidable the tube, said tube having lateralopenings normally closed by said sleeve member, said sleeve membernormally being longitudinally immovable and including a seat on theupper end thereof, and said means for closing oif said jet head andshifting said closure means including a plug of less cross sectionalarea than the tube but of `greater cross sectional area than the sleevemember positionable in the tube for engagement with the seat on thesleeve member thereby causing the sleeve member to move downwardly inresponse to pressure and closing the sleeve member whereby the sleevemember will open the lateral openings. Y

I6. The structure as dened in claim 5 wherein said sleeve member is inthe form of a bushing, spring means urging the bushing back to a closedposition in relation to the opening whereby the lateral opening will beclosed upon a reduction in pressure above the bushing thereby preventingbackow through the tube.

7. The structure as defined in claim 6 wherein a series of bushings andlateral openings are provided in the tube, each bushing in the serieshaving a progressively larger diameter as the series extends towards thetop `of the tube for enabling sequential closing oif of the bushing anddischarge of the material laterally from the openings.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSl1,404,353 Ellis Ian. 24, 11922 1,404,925 Blumenthal Jan. y3l, 19221,435,144 Bignell Nov. 14, 1922 1,449,236 Malone Mar. 20, 1923:1,746,848 Bates v Feb. l1, 1930 2,312,018 Bechman Feb. 23, 19432,507,439 Goolsbee May 9, 1950 2,805,043 Williams Sept. 3, 1957

1. AN ANCHOR DEVICE COMPRISING AN ELONGATED TUBE HAVING LATERALOPENINGS, CLOSURE MEANS DISPOSED IN SAID TUBE AND NORMALLY CLOSING SAIDLATERAL OPENINGS TO THE INTERIOR OF THE TUBE, A JET HEAD AT THE BOTTOMEND OF THE TUBE, STABILIZING MEANS MOUNTED ON THE TUBE INTERMEDIATE THELENGTH THEREOF, ATTACHMENT MEANS MOUNTED ON THE TUBE ADJACENT THE UPPEREND THEREOF FOR ATTACHING A CABLE OR THE LIKE TO BE ANCHORED, AND MEANSWITHIN THE TUBE FOR CLOSING OFF THE JET HEAD AND SHIFTING SAID CLOSUREMEANS TO OPEN SAID LATERAL OPENINGS FOR DISCHARGE OF ANCHORING CEMENTLATERALLY OF THE TUBE.